


Dog Walks and Sun-drenched Balconies

by t_dragon



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Fluff and Humor, Light Angst, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Romantic Fluff, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-10
Updated: 2018-08-10
Packaged: 2019-06-25 13:41:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,119
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15641904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/t_dragon/pseuds/t_dragon
Summary: Baekhyun invites Chanyeol over for a weekend of sunlight, dog kisses, and soft moments as they meet again for the first time in months.





	Dog Walks and Sun-drenched Balconies

**Author's Note:**

  * For [BaekMeSomeEggyeol](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BaekMeSomeEggyeol/gifts).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm guessing you didn't expect to get this so early, lol, considering you got your bet fic not even a day ago, but... I couldn't hold myself back from posting the first part! It's been quite some time since I started it, lol, and months since your actual birthday, but anyway! Happy belated birthday, baby, hope you'll enjoy this one too<3

 The sun was shining high in the sky, barely a cloud covering the large expanse of azure, and the amazing weather was mirroring Baekhyun’s mood perfectly. Sure, he was rather nervous, but also so very excited.

 Standing in the shade beneath the roof of the quaint little train station, he could barely stay still, shifting in place with his arms crossed over his chest. It felt as if his entire body was vibrating, strung so tight, as the clock ticked too slow but also too fast. There were only a few minutes left until the train was supposed to arrive, and Baekhyun had gotten a text saying that the train was on time, but he knew it might be there either sooner or later anyway. And the uncertainty made Baekhyun feel even  _ more _ nervous.

 Deep in thoughts, trying to force himself to breathe properly and to not overthink, Baekhyun flinched when he heard the female voice over the speakers announce that the train was soon to arrive. Standing up on the tip of his toes, Baekhyun glanced over the top of the heads of the people standing on the platform, and if he squinted, he was able to see something moving down the tracks.

 Heart fluttering like a hummingbird in his chest, Baekhyun took a step back to make space for the people who were going with the train from his station. Worrying his lower lip, it felt as if his heart impossibly sped up the closer the train got - especially when he was able to hear it.

 And then the train was there, coming to a stop by the station, the doors sliding open, a few people stepping off and more stepping on. Baekhyun did not need to get up on the tips of his toes again to find the person he was looking for, because he could see him anyway.

 As soon as they made eye contact, Chanyeol smiled widely, and Baekhyun could not help but smile right back at him. Giving a small wave, Chanyeol then began to make his way over, quicker and quicker as the people began to clear off of the platform, and Baekhyun began to move to meet him halfway.

 “Hey,” Chanyeol said as soon as they were close to each other, and all of Baekhyun’s nerves just poured off of him, just like that. But Chanyeol had always had that effect on him; always made him feel so easy and light.

 “Hi,” Baekhyun answered, still a bit awkward by not knowing if he should hug Chanyeol or not.

 This was only the second time they met in real life, having spent a few months talking daily after having met at the party of a mutual friend, so Baekhyun was a bit insecure about what to do now suddenly.

 But as Chanyeol hesitated as well, Baekhyun realized that maybe he was not the only one a bit insecure about it all, and it had him chuckling a little.

 “Here, let me help you with your bag,” Baekhyun decided on saying instead, holding out a hand for the bag hanging off of Chanyeol’s shoulder.

 Chanyeol was equipped with both a bag and a guitar case, and it looked a bit cumbersome to Baekhyun.

 “Huh? No, it’s fine, I can carry it,” Chanyeol said, glancing down at the bag, but Baekhyun shook his head.

 “We have to walk for a bit, and you look a bit unbalanced, so just let me help you,” Baekhyun jokingly demanded, softly glaring at Chanyeol, who gave in with a sigh as he slid the bag off of his shoulder and handed it over to Baekhyun, though there was a small smile on his lips.

 “So intimidating, you really weren’t joking about being feisty,” Chanyeol said with another sigh.

 “See, you should’ve just believed me from the start,” Baekhyun laughed, before motioning towards the exit. “We’re going this way, follow me.”

 Chanyeol gave a mock salute, and then they were walking out of the station and onto the sunny streets of the small town Baekhyun was living in.

 It was easy to slip into a comfortable and somewhat familiar state with Chanyeol, Baekhyun realized, as they began to discuss things and joke around within a few minutes of Chanyeol having arrived. Talking almost as easily as they did online, but with the added excitement of being next to each other in physical form and being able to hear each other uninhibited.

 “It’s a really nice town,” Chanyeol said, looking around as they walked through the inner parts of the town. “Picturesque and nice.”

 Baekhyun shrugged a little and glanced around. It was kind of nice, but he was too used to it nowadays to appreciate the simple beauty of it.

 “I guess it’s kinda nice if you live in a modern, fast-paced city,” Baekhyun said, a bit teasing, and Chanyeol turned towards him with an amused look.

 “It is nice, I like the architecture of this place, and how calm it is,” Chanyeol said, grinning softly. “I think I’m actually more of a small-town guy…”

 “Then it’s nice that you can come visit a small town like this,” Baekhyun said, pointing in the direction they were supposed to go.

 “And visit you,” Chanyeol added as he followed, looking slightly confused in the new environment.

 “And me,” Baekhyun agreed with a satisfied grin.

 After about ten minutes of walking, they had finally arrived by the house where Baekhyun lived, and started the short trek up to the second floor.

 “I really don’t like stairs,” Chanyeol complained, a bit breathless, when they stopped in front of Baekhyun’s door.

 “Wow, you’re really out of shape,” Baekhyun chuckled as he pulled out his keys.

 As soon as he pushed the key into the keyhole, barking was heard, and Baekhyun sighed. Unlocking and opening the door, Baekhyun tried to block the brown little blurr from rushing outside, but it was a lost cause.

 “Mongryong!” Baekhyun called out. “Get back inside!”

 But the corgi ignored him in favor of barking at Chanyeol, jumping at the man. Chuckling, Chanyeol squatted down and began to pat the dog - as well as he could with Mongryong running around in excited circles in front of Chanyeol.

 “Mongryong,” Baekhyun tried again, and this time the dog listened, and ran inside, turning around after having gotten over the threshold, barking yet again. “Jeez, Mongryong, calm down! We’re coming inside!”

 “He’s so cute and energetic,” Chanyeol cooed as they walked inside, pulling the door closed behind him as Mongryong once more attacked him. “Even more than I expected!”

 “He is a handful,” Baekhyun sighed, putting Chanyeol’s bag down and toeing off his shoes. “Okay, Mongryong, that’s enough, let the poor man come inside!”

 The corgi turned towards Baekhyun, looking at him for half a second, before rushing down the hallway and into the living room instead.

 “Whoa, this is a pretty big place,” Chanyeol said, sounding a bit distracted, and when Baekhyun turned around, he found the taller looking around with a surprised expression as he leaned the guitar case against the wall. “Really nice too!”

 “Thank you,” Baekhyun beamed, preening a little, because he was rather proud of his place. “I like it a lot, and just finished re-decorating, so it’s even prettier!”

 “Yeah, it looks different from the pictures I’ve seen,” Chanyeol said as he peeked into the first room, the bathroom. “Oh, a tub! I haven’t bathed in one in ages!”

 Leaning against the doorframe, Baekhyun crossed his arms over his chest as he gave a crooked smile.

 “If you behave, I might let you use it,” Baekhyun drawled, and Chanyeol glanced over at him with a small but very amused smile.

 “Is that so? Well, then I’ll just have to stay on my best behavior,” Chanyeol answered, voice slightly darker than before, and Baekhyun smiled before pushing himself away from the doorframe to continue with the tour, not knowing how to answer; suddenly not remembering how to properly flirt.

 They continued on with the house tour, checking out the kitchen and the rather large walk-in closet, before coming into the living room. Standing in the middle of it, Chanyeol looked back and forth between the living room and the bedroom, lips forming a small ‘o’.

 “The living room was so big that they decided to split it into two rooms, and I like this room better as bedroom,” Baekhyun said, shrugging a little. “I have my computer and stuff set up in the room supposed to be the bedroom, over there.”

 Chanyeol glanced over towards where Baekhyun was pointing, before looking back at the bedroom.

 “That looks really cozy, I understand why you decided on that one instead,” Chanyeol said, before moving towards the other room. “So this is where you keep your beloved computer, huh? From how much you’ve been bragging about it, you need to show me it now…”

 Baekhyun gave a laugh, following Chanyeol and letting the other walk inside of the room first. Immediately, Chanyeol went for the chair, sitting down in it to take a look at the PC standing on the desk, whilst Baekhyun sat down in the sofa.

 “It’s a really nice computer, I have to admit,” Chanyeol said, tone reverent, and Baekhyun could not help but proudly grin. “I’m a bit jealous…”

 “Yeah, but you can bring your laptop everywhere, I can’t really do that,” Baekhyun pointed out. “Pretty annoying to haul my computer and at least one screen around.”

 Chanyeol spun around in the chair to face Baekhyun, shrugging a little. “That is true… But mine is nowhere near yours in power, so it kinda cancels out.”

 “True, I’m more buff than you,” Baekhyun taunted, smirking at the outraged gasp Chanyeol gave.

 “I’ve seen no proof whatsoever of that, not even after me sending you a selfie showing myself!” Chanyeol argued, crossing his arms over his chest. “I don’t believe you, you’re just saying that!”

 “Maybe I wanted to keep it a surprise?” Baekhyun suggested, waggling his eyebrows before standing up. “I’m going for a smoke, you can familiarize yourself with this place or whatever you like.”

 Chanyeol also stood up as Baekhyun moved towards the door, following.

 “I’ll join you, I don’t mind.”

 Baekhyun already knew that Chanyeol did not smoke - except for the occasional cigarette whilst drunk, which had led to Baekhyun’s cigarettes’ dramatic dwindling that time months ago - and was rather thankful for the fact that Chanyeol not only did not judge or try to convince him to stop, but also did not mind keeping him company.

 Opening the door leading outside, Baekhyun sat down on one of the two chairs standing on the balcony, looking up as he heard an amazed ‘wow’. Chanyeol was standing by the railing, mouth having dropped open and eyes sparkling as he looked out over the town. Because Baekhyun’s apartment was situated rather high up in a building standing halfway up a small mountain, the view was rather magnificent, a more or less unobstructed view down to the large lake nearby.

 “I know, right? Probably the best part about living here,” Baekhyun chuckled, lighting his cigarette and putting his feet up on the railing. “It’s a pretty great view.”

 Slowly, Chanyeol sank down into the second chair, still not taking his eyes off of the view.

 “It looks like the sea,” he whispered, and Baekhyun nodded.

 “It’s comforting, I can pretend that it’s a bay and not just a lake.”

 “You miss the sea?” Chanyeol asked.

 Baekhyun gave a nod, a small, sad smile on his lips. He had grown up near the sea, but moved inland for various reasons. And now he was a bit stuck where he was, unfortunately, and missing his hometown. Which he never would have believed ten years ago.

 “Hey, by the way, you never told me why you started smoking?” Chanyeol said, nodding towards the stick of death between Baekhyun’s fingers.

 Looking down at it, Baekhyun shrugged, flicking some ash off.

 “It's a nervous habit I picked up when my life was going downhill, it helped me calm down, and nowadays I'm just too lazy to try to get rid of it,” Baekhyun answered, taking a drag before blowing the smoke upwards into the air, watching it float away. “I'm awesome at motivating myself, I swear.”

 Chanyeol chuckled and shook his head, looking out over the town again.

 “I understand your lack of motivation, and habits combined with addictions must be a pain to get rid of,” Chanyeol mused, before the balcony door was nudged open, and a corgi came trotting outside. “Oh, hello, Mongryong, are you supposed to be out here?”

 “I have a blanket I put on your chair for him to lie on normally,” Baekhyun said, before looking down at the dog sitting beside him. “No, you know you're not allowed to sit in my lap when I smoke, baby.”

 Mongryong whined at him a little more, before he changed tactics, and went over to Chanyeol instead.

 “You know, since I stole your chair, I find it fair for you to steal my lap,” Chanyeol said, before picking the dog up and letting him get comfortable. “You really are adorable, aren’t you, Mongryong?”

 Mongryong gave a happy bark, making both men chuckle.

 “Stole your lap, stole your heart, he’s making me pretty jealous,” Baekhyun sighed, leaning his elbow on the table between him and Chanyeol, watching Mongryong having the time of his life with all of the behind-the-ear scratches he was getting.

 “I might just end up stealing him away,” Chanyeol grinned, and Baekhyun sat back upright, spluttering. “But then I’d steal you away, too, I think he’d miss you too much otherwise. Me too.”

 “Now I’m the one at danger of having my heart stolen,” Baekhyun muttered, rolling his eyes, making Chanyeol laugh. “Dog walk, and then go to the town to buy stuff? I haven’t stocked up on things, thought we could buy stuff together…”

 “Sounds like a plan,” Chanyeol smiled, gingerly putting Mongryong down as Baekhyun stubbed the cigarette, and they headed inside of the apartment again.

 “His harness is over there,” Baekhyun said, nodding towards the entrance, walking around the apartment to get the things he somehow had managed to lose between coming home after having picked Chanyeol up, and now. “Can you put it on?”

 “Hey, Mongryong, you wanna go for a walk?” Chanyeol asked the dog, making his voice more high-pitched than normal, laughing as the excited dog began to jump around him and bark. “Yes, you do! Come on, let’s get you into your harness while daddy runs around trying to find his things!”

 Baekhyun grumbled a little, a smile on his face, as he listened to Chanyeol talking with Mongryong. It was really adorable, how the rather tall and handsome-looking man took care of Mongryong that cutely, played around with him and talked with him, and it had Baekhyun drag out on finding his stuff just to be able to hear more.

 But he could not stay hidden watching for ever, so Baekhyun picked up his keys, looked around one last time, and then headed towards the entrance.

 “Come on, puppies, time to go,” Baekhyun said, patting Chanyeol’s head as he walked past the man seated on the floor.

 “Plural? You have a collar and leash for me too?” Chanyeol joked as he got up, handing Mongryong’s leash to Baekhyun.

 “Hm, I might,” Baekhyun mumbled, tapping his lower lip, then opening and walking out the door before Chanyeol got the chance to gather himself enough to say something. “Hurry up so I can lock the door, Chanyeollie!”

 Chanyeol still looked slightly shell-shocked as he walked out the door, Baekhyun quickly closing and locking it, before heading down the stairs. Mongryong was already halfway down the first set of stairs, as excited about going out as usual.

 “You can’t just say stuff like that out of the blue,” Chanyeol muttered as he hurried down the stairs to walk next to Baekhyun. “At least not when we’re going out in public!”

 “Why?” Baekhyun amusedly asked, glancing down at Chanyeol’s crotch, then up at his face, watching as a faint pink spread over cheeks.

 “Oh my god, I’m not hard! Just embarrassed!” Chanyeol sputtered, pulling his cap lower down on his head.

 “It’s really cute, though,” Baekhyun said, grinning, as they arrived at the bottom floor and walked outside into the sun. “Just so you know. We’re going over there, to that crosswalk.”

 “We’re going into the park?” Chanyeol asked, pointing towards the park on the other side of the road, obviously gripping onto the change of subject with both hands.

 “Yeah, and then up the hill, and around,” Baekhyun answered, using his entire arm to point out their route. “It’s the short walk, we’ll take the long one later.”

 “Yes, sir,” Chanyeol answered, giving a mock salute, but quickly changing to a pout as Baekhyun looked over with a raised eyebrow and a small smile. “You’re having way too much fun right now.”

 Baekhyun burst out laughing and shook his head as he held Mongryong back, checking that it was safe to cross the street, before letting the corgi run forwards again.

 “I’m sorry, it was just so well-timed that I couldn’t help myself! I promise, I’ll stop now,” Baekhyun said, before slapping a hand over his mouth, a giggle still slipping out, as Chanyeol glared at him.

 “I’ll just hang out with Mongryong instead, he won’t tease me,” Chanyeol said, striding ahead to catch up with Mongryong.

 But as Chanyeol got closer, Mongryong shot off, chasing a bird, leaving Chanyeol on his own.

 “Mongryong, stop chasing the bird!” Baekhyun called out, laughing, as he walked up to Chanyeol and hooked their arms together. “He’s easily distracted, I guess you’re just stuck with me.”

 Chanyeol gave an exasperated sigh, but Baekhyun could see the faint smile on his lips.

 Soon, the walkway they were on started to incline upwards towards the top of the hill, and soon after that, Baekhyun began to notice that Chanyeol began to slump a little bit more and more the higher they climbed. It was a rather steep slope, but it still amused Baekhyun.

 “You get this out of breath after a little hill?” Baekhyun asked, looking over at the lightly panting Chanyeol. “I’m the smoker here, you should be able to handle more than me!”

 “I’m starting to buy you being more buff than me,” Chanyeol huffed out, leaning his head back and grimacing. “I guess this is good for me, though.”

 Baekhyun nodded as he pulled Chanyeol along. “Yepp, very good for you, welcome to Bootcamp Baekhyun, we’ll work hard to get you in shape in just a few days!”

 “Bootcamp Baekhyun? I thought I signed up for Bootycamp Baekhyun,” Chanyeol joked, earning himself a glare.

 “And you complained about my sexual jokes, I can’t believe you,” Baekhyun sighed, releasing Chanyeol’s arm. “What a hypocrite!”

 “Let’s just call it even,” Chanyeol grinned as he slung an arm around Baekhyun’s shoulders.

 And even as Baekhyun huffed a little over it, he let Chanyeol’s arm stay around his shoulders, let Chanyeol hold him close enough for their hips to brush against each other every now and then.

 It was nice, really nice, to hang out with someone like this again. Baekhyun had honestly missed it.

 Fifteen minutes later, they were back inside of the apartment, Chanyeol gulping down some water as Baekhyun took off Mongryong’s harness and put it away.

 “You ready to go?” Baekhyun asked as Chanyeol rejoined him in the hallway, stretching out his arms as Chanyeol nodded. “Help me up, please.”

 “Only because you asked so nicely,” Chanyeol agreed as he took hold of Baekhyun’s hands and tugged him upright.

 “I always ask nicely,” Baekhyun deadpanned, before motioning towards the door. “Let’s hurry while the child is distracted.”

 Chanyeol looked confused for half a second, before a light went off in his eyes, and he quickly moved towards the door. Baekhyun quickly followed, closing and locking the door in record time, no barking being heard.

 “Phew, catastrophe avoided!” Baekhyun said as they once more headed for the stairs, though still listening for if Mongryong would catch on to what happened soon.

 “He doesn’t like you leaving him alone?” Chanyeol asked.

 “Nope, he’s a daddy’s boy,” Baekhyun said, smiling a little. “Makes it harder to leave him, but… I can handle that just to be able to have him.”

 “So cute,” Chanyeol mumbled, just smiling when Baekhyun looked over at him with a raised eyebrow.

 The town had come a bit more to life since they had last walked through it, with more shops having opened and more people being out and about. With the great weather only helping, it seemed to be the perfect day for people to roam around lazily.

 “I have the best idea,” Chanyeol suddenly exclaimed, coming to a stop and looking so serious that Baekhyun could not help but hang on to his every word. “Like literally the best idea ever.”

 “Okay, what is it?” Baekhyun urged the other, wanting to know what this ‘best idea ever’ was.

 “Sparkling wine with strawberries,” Chanyeol said, clapping his hands together.

 Baekhyun stood staring at Chanyeol for a few seconds, blinking, before he faked a shaky exhale.

 “Wow, I love you?” he whispered, because Baekhyun really,  _ really _ , liked strawberries, and in combination with sparkling wine on such a beautiful day… It seemed like the perfect idea. Literally the best idea ever.

 “Jesus Christ, Baekhyun-ah, we haven’t even started dating yet!” Chanyeol cutely said, glancing down at the ground in mock embarrassment as he gently pushed at Baekhyun’s shoulder.

 “Okay, I take it back,” Baekhyun groaned, rolling his eyes as he began to walk in the direction of the liquor store. Chanyeol chased after him, laughing loudly.

 “No take backs! You said you love me, you can’t take it back!”

 “I just did!” Baekhyun shot back, sticking his tongue out at Chanyeol, who tried to take ahold of it.

 They were still playfully shoving at each other and teasing when they arrived at the liquor store, both sobering up (a thought which had Baekhyun give a small giggle) as they entered.

 “Okay, sparkling wine, are we getting anything else?” Chanyeol asked as Baekhyun picked up a basket. “Lazy weekend with some alcohol for dinner?”

 “Sounds like a pretty nice weekend,” Baekhyun said, smiling up at Chanyeol. “Oh, there’s this really nice sparkling wine that you’re supposed to have ice in, which would be pretty neat in this heat?”

 “And you just made my suggestion even better, wow, what great teamwork!” Chanyeol said, grinning broadly and excitedly clapping his hands. “We’re going to have so much fun, yay!”

 Easily getting swept into the excitement, Baekhyun found himself smiling and laughing more during this shopping trip, than he had in quite some time now.

 

 “Is that Mongryong?” Chanyeol asked, pointing upwards as they were walking towards the entrance to Baekhyun’s apartment building.

 Taking a moment to listen, Baekhyun sighed as he heard faint barking.

 “Yeah, it is… He’s either seen or heard me,” Baekhyun said, groaning a little. “I’m honestly just happy my neighbors doesn’t care too much about the noise… Me and Mongryong would be out on the street quickly otherwise.”

 Chanyeol turned to look at him as they walked into the stairwell, a small frown on his face.

 “If you guys ever become homeless, you can come stay with me,” Chanyeol said, surprising Baekhyun a little. “The city might not be the most fun place for a dog to live, but at least temporarily it’s better than nothing.”

 “Thank you,” Baekhyun said, smiling, this sort of warm feeling in his chest. “That’s really nice of you, to offer that. Thank you.”

 “Of course,” Chanyeol said with a shrug. “I have the space and I won’t let you even think that there’s a chance you have nowhere to go. If anything happens, just let me know, and I’ll help you.”

 “I appreciate it,” Baekhyun said, the words heartfelt, before chuckling. “Yeah, he definitely knows we’re coming home.”

 The barking was getting louder and louder the higher they got, and Baekhyun knew that Mongryong was standing by the door, telling them to hurry the fuck up.

 “I was going to challenge you to who could get up there the quickest, but I’m scared of the result,” Chanyeol snickered.

 “We both know I’d win, so let’s not do that while carrying bags full of food,” Baekhyun said with a laugh. “I’ll challenge you again another time.”

 Mongryong was beside himself when they finally stepped inside, obviously very hurt over the betrayal of them sneaking out and leaving him alone. But it only took a few pats before he was placated, and once more back to his happy-go-lucky personality.

 After having put the groceries away, Baekhyun collected a few things and washed his hands.

 “Let’s make some lunch, I’m hungry,” Baekhyun suggested, and Chanyeol readily agreed.

 “What do you want me to help with?” Chanyeol asked, putting his cap on backwards to keep his hair out of his face.

 “You can keep an eye on the pasta and the chicken,” Baekhyun answered as he put the pot filled with water on the stove. “And I'll deal with the vegetables?”

 “Sure thing!” Chanyeol said, accepting the things handed to him, before he got to work.

 Baekhyun pulled out his phone and navigated his way to Spotify, putting one of his lists on before placing the device on a shelf. Humming under his breath, he began rinsing the vegetables.

 “You know I don't mind you singing, right?” Chanyeol said, sounding very amused, but Baekhyun just rolled his eyes.

 “Hush, I'm getting into it,” Baekhyun said. “And you're going to regret prompting me like that, I'll go all out!”

 “I've wanted to hear you sing for real ever since we sat on that swing and you silently sang along to what we could hear being played,” Chanyeol chuckled, waving the spatula in Baekhyun’s direction. “Let me hear it, as soon as you're ready, give me your all.”

 Baekhyun smiled at the memory. They had been sitting on a playground swing set just below where the party was, and the music had still been loud enough for them to hear. Baekhyun being who he was - and drunk - had started to sing along inbetween their talks. His memory of it was a bit blurry, but he still remembered how calm and peaceful he had felt. Completely different from how he had normally been feeling back then.

 It did not take long before Baekhyun was singing, and even shorter before he was really going all out. At some parts, Chanyeol joined in, doing the background vocals or the rapping, and every now and then even Mongryong joined. Lunch turned into a happy singalong, and by the time they were done, Baekhyun was breathless and close to tears from how much he had laughed and sung.

 

 “Okay, but this was a good idea,” Chanyeol said as he scraped the last of his food together. “With how warm it is, this was a really good idea.”

 “I know, I am pretty smart,” Baekhyun grinned, finishing his water. “I'm going for a smoke, you can just leave the stuff on the table, and I'll take care of it later.”

 Chanyeol nodded, and Baekhyun stood up and headed over to the balcony. He sat down in one of the chairs with a heavy sigh, lighting up his cigarette, before just taking a moment to sit and watch nothing in particular.

 He had been nervous, very nervous, about having Chanyeol over, as well as so incredibly happy that it was finally happening. They had been talking for so long, but never been able to meet until now, finally. And now, here they were, Chanyeol sitting in Baekhyun’s kitchen, and it felt a bit surreal, but also so very right.

 Giving a small chuckle, Baekhyun shook his head before finishing the cigarette and heading inside.

 The sound of water and brushing had Baekhyun frown, and he hurried over to the kitchen. By the sink stood Chanyeol; fully immersed in doing the dishes.

 “Uh, what are you doing?” Baekhyun asked in confusion, because he was pretty sure he had told Chanyeol to just leave everything, and Chanyeol was a guest as well and should not have to do the dishes.

 A plate clanked into the sink as Chanyeol jerked in surprise, looking over at Baekhyun with wide, shocked eyes.

 “ _ Fuck _ , don't scare me like that!” Chanyeol whined, clenching his hands around the edges of the sink and closing his eyes to take a few breaths to calm down.

 “I'm sorry,” Baekhyun said with a chuckle as he walked over to Chanyeol and rubbed his back. “I didn't mean to scare you, but why are you doing the dishes?”

 Chanyeol shrugged as he picked up the plate again and looked it over to make sure it was not broken or anything.

 “I wanted to help, so I helped. Simple as that.”

 “But you're my guest, Chanyeol, you don't have to do this,” Baekhyun protested, poking at Chanyeol’s arm.

 Chanyeol turned around to poke Baekhyun on the nose, making Baekhyun splutter as he wiped away the water suddenly running down the tip of his nose.

 “But I wanted to. I'm going to be here for a few days, so get used to this,” Chanyeol declared, before going back to the dishes.

 “Fine, okay,” Baekhyun sighed, patting Chanyeol’s back before heading out of the kitchen. “We're taking the kid out when you're done.”

 Chanyeol quickly finished up - there was not that much dishes after all - and Baekhyun got up from where he had been sitting on the floor giving Mongryong belly rubs.

 “Ready?” Baekhyun asked, to which Chanyeol nodded. “Come on, Mongryong!”

 The always-excited puppy sprinted past Baekhyun, almost taking him down on the way, before he came to a skidding stop next to the door and began to bark happily. Baekhyun pressed a hand over his heart and breathed out, before walking after Mongryong, Chanyeol following whilst laughing.

 After having put the harness on Mongryong, Baekhyun patted his pockets whilst looking around, wondering where all of his stuff could be. Chanyeol appeared next to him, holding out keys, wallet and cigarettes, and Baekhyun looked down at it in surprise. There they were!

 “I saw where you put it before, so I put it in a pile and fetched it for you now,” Chanyeol said, answering Baekhyun’s unsaid question. “So you wouldn’t have to run around your apartment again.”

 “Thank you,” Baekhyun said as he accepted his stuff, smiling up at Chanyeol. “That’s really nice of you.”

 Chanyeol shrugged as he stepped into his shoes. “What can I say, I am nice sometimes.”

 “Sometimes, starting to seem like you’re nice most of the time,” Baekhyun said, before opening the door.

 The sun was starting to shine even more strongly by now, as it was reaching it’s peak, and Baekhyun started to regret his choice of jeans. Sure, they were a bit ripped, which was nice, but he really wished he had taken shorts instead. At least his white t-shirt was nice and airy…

 “We’re taking the long walk this time around, so this is more a test of endurance,” Baekhyun joked as they once more headed towards the park.

 “We really are setting each other up for these, aren’t we?” Chanyeol chuckled, grinning widely when Baekhyun looked over at him in confusion. “Come on, Baek, think about it.”

 Glancing up at the trees they were about to walk beneath, Baekhyun thought through his last sentence, before face palming.

 “Okay, yeah, I get it now, yeah…,” Baekhyun said with a sigh. “I didn’t even think about it, honestly, now I’m suspecting that it’s just your mind that’s lying in the gutter.”

 “Nu-uh, you just took a temporary breather, I’m pulling you back down now again,” Chanyeol cackled. “I give you full permission to test my endurance in any way you see fitting, Baekhyun-ah.”

 “Shut up, there’s people around!” Baekhyun hissed as he punched Chanyeol’s arm, but there was a smile on his lips.

 “You started it!” Chanyeol exclaimed, also smiling, and they were both giggling as they went past an elderly couple seated on a bench, greeting them as well as they could, Mongryong also running forwards to greet.

 It took some time to get the energetic pup away from the couple, who were almost as happy about him as he was for them, but then they were on their way again, Mongryong trotting along happily.

 “Instead of going down there,” Baekhyun said, pointing in the direction they had taken before, “we’re going this way.”

 Chanyeol looked in the other direction Baekhyun pointed out, raising his cap a little.

 “To the forest?” Chanyeol asked, and Baekhyun nodded. “A little bit of shade would be really nice now, actually…”

 “Are you suffering as much as me?” Baekhyun amusedly asked, looking over at Chanyeol’s similar clothing that was really not well-suited for the conditions they were in.

 “Yeah, trying to dress to impress really backfired on us, huh?” Chanyeol answered with a crooked smile.

 “It really did,” Baekhyun agreed with a laugh.

 It was cooler in the forest, but there were also more insects, much to their chagrin. Baekhyun was getting pretty used to the mosquitos, but Chanyeol was having a harder time.

 “This is one thing I don’t miss when I’m in the city,” Chanyeol muttered, waving his hand in front of his face as he tried to clear away the gnat. “I’d almost forgotten how annoying they are…”

 “If you’re not leaving without at least one bite, how can you even prove that you were out on the countryside?” Baekhyun playfully argued, before turning serious. “But yeah, they’re a pain, but all you can do really is get used to it.”

 “The things I do for cute dogs and their cute owners,” Chanyeol muttered, and Baekhyun reached out to shove him.

 A bit into the forest, they came across an open area, obviously meant for playing soccer if you went by the two goals standing across from each other. Unhooking the leash, Baekhyun set Mongryong free, and the corgi immediately rushed off.

 “ _ Ah _ , look at his cute little wiggly butt!” Chanyeol exclaimed, one hand clutching his heart. “How can someone look so adorable while running?!”

 Baekhyun gave a shrug. “He’s a corgi.”

 “Corgis are the best,” Chanyeol whispered, cooing as Mongryong returned with a large stick in his mouth, tripping a little as it was too big for him to carry really.

 Walking forwards, Baekhyun accepted the stick, breaking it down into smaller and more easily-handled pieces for Mongryong. Pulling his arm back, he waited for Mongryong to work himself up into uncontainable excitement over fetching, before he threw the stick hard. The corgi did not even wait for the stick to leave Baekhyun’s hand before he ran off, barking as he went.

 Having fetched the stick, Mongryong ran back, proudly showing off his stick, then dropping it on the ground without a second thought as Baekhyun threw another of the pieces.

 They continued like this for a while, Baekhyun and Chanyeol alternating between throwing the sticks, talking as they tired the dog out properly. At one point Mongryong decided to be playful and not let go of the stick in his mouth, so Baekhyun began to chase after him until he finally got ahold of the stick and threw it away.

 “Okay, but how in the hell are you also looking so  _ utterly _ adorable when running?” Chanyeol asked, sounding almost accusing, as Baekhyun jogged back to his side.

 “I don’t look adorable when running,” Baekhyun grumbled, already making a note in his head to not run any more during the duration of Chanyeol’s visit.

 “You do, you really do,” Chanyeol said, a fond look in his eyes that had Baekhyun melt some, his annoyance draining away a little bit.

 “We should head back now, Mongryong is starting to look tired,” Baekhyun decided to say instead of answering Chanyeol’s comment, turning away as he was unable to suppress the giant, giddy smile on his lips.

 It took some time before they were able to leash Mongryong again, the corgi having figured out that they were going home and not being too happy about it, but as they continued on their way it was easy to see that he was getting tired. Walking in a slower pace, Mongryong did not stop every ten seconds to smell at something, seeming to be more a happily placated floof than a fluffy ball of pure energy.

 “Can you hold him?” Baekhyun asked, holding up the leash in a question, feeling slightly shy about asking. He really felt like smoking, but at the same time, it felt kind of bad to ask Chanyeol for the favor of holding his dog whilst he smoked.

 “Holy shit yes, of course!” Chanyeol quickly said, almost snatching the leash out of Baekhyun’s hand with a happy little smile on his lips. “I’m walking a dog! Ah, I’m so happy right now…”

 Baekhyun just shook his head as he pulled out his cigarettes, amazed over the fact that Chanyeol was so happy about holding on to a rope connected to a dog. It was so innocently cute and pure that it had Baekhyun’s heart ache.

 

 When they arrived back home, Mongryong barely let Baekhyun remove the harness before he was trudging over to the sofa, hopping up, and then collapsing into a pile on it, all sprawled out. Within seconds, he seemed to pass out completely, and Baekhyun snorted at his mess of a dog.

 “Poor thing must be exhausted,” Chanyeol mumbled, sounding a bit anxious about it.

 “He’s going to be up and running around like before after this nap,” Baekhyun reassured the taller. “He has a lot of energy to get out of his system, which is why we take these long walks every day the weather allows it.”

 “If you say so…,” Chanyeol said, following Baekhyun over to the sofa where they both sat down, Chanyeol more gingerly than Baekhyun, but Mongryong only moved enough to press his paws against Baekhyun’s thighs. It was too warm for lying in a lap, but some kind of contact was always needed.

 “Really, you’ll see when he wakes up,” Baekhyun chuckled, softly caressing Mongryong’s ear. “It’s good to exhaust him once, he sleeps better, and we make sure to keep him in shape through it as well.”

 “I’ll stay worried until I see him get back to normal,” Chanyeol sighed, putting his head down on the back rest. “I’m just that kind of person…”

 Baekhyun just grinned at him.

 They stayed like that for a while, comfortably making small talk, keeping it quiet for Mongryong who was still sleeping between them. He had woken up once, long enough to shot Baekhyun an annoyed glare as Baekhyun had given too loud of a laugh, but quickly settled down and falling asleep again.

 “So, should we maybe open the sparkling wine?” Chanyeol asked in an excited tone after a while, and Baekhyun could not help but smile, starting to feel the excitement as well.

 “Yeah, let’s go!” Baekhyun said, and they both sprang out of the sofa, jostling Mongryong a little, but he just went back to sleep.

 Rushing to the kitchen, they were giggling as they pulled out the sparkling wine and the strawberries, Baekhyun pulling out his best champagne flutes.

 “Are we having the fancy glasses?” Chanyeol gasped, and he began to laugh as Baekhyun gently punched his arm. “Hey, I’m feeling honored!”

 “You better, I’ve only used these like twice, they’ve been passed down to me!” Baekhyun huffed in mock.

 “Wait, what, are you kidding me?” Chanyeol asked, suddenly very hesitant. “Don’t do this to me, I’m too clumsy for this shit, I’m probably going to break both of them!”

 Baekhyun cackled as he got to work on the wine bottle. “I have full faith in you, Chanyeol! So don’t let me down!”

 “Why does that sound like a threat?” Chanyeol muttered, putting his hands over his ears and taking a step backwards.

 “Because it is,” Baekhyun said in glee.

 Taking off the little metal cage, Baekhyun began to gently wiggle the cork out of the bottleneck, carefully to hopefully not accidentally take a light or an eye out. As the cork popped out, Baekhyun could see Chanyeol flail out of the corner of his eye.

 “Did you just get scared by this, even though you were prepared for it?” Baekhyun chuckled, looking over at Chanyeol who still seemed a bit shocked. “I’m starting to regret my choice in glasses!”

 “I told you!” Chanyeol retorted. “I’m easily scared and clumsy, not a good combination for passed-down champagne flutes!”

 “No, I’m challenging you!” Baekhyun said as he began to pour the sparkling wine. “You’re going to get through this, Chanyeol-ah, without breaking a single one!”

 Chanyeol gave a whimper as he slowly sneaked forwards, dealing with the strawberries and gingerly dropping them into the wine.

 “Hey, you’re spilling the alcohol!” Baekhyun laughed as a strawberry splashed a bit too much.

 “It’s not my fault!” Chanyeol protested, taking the ice tray Baekhyun handed to him. “I’m scared!”

 “Show me you got some balls!”

 “There are easier ways to show you that!”

 Baekhyun was close to collapsing on the floor from how hard he was laughing, and Chanyeol was not far behind, though he was also trembling slightly from fear.

 “They’re actually the only champagne flutes I have,” Baekhyun said after he had managed to calm down somewhat. “So it’s these or wine glasses, and that seem a bit excessive.”

 “Okay, I understand,” Chanyeol said as he put the ice away, looking down at the finished drinks. “Would be a bit over the top to use wine glasses for this.”

 “Exactly,” Baekhyun said with a wink, before reaching over and taking one of the glasses. “Let’s make a toast!”

 Chanyeol carefully picked his glass up as well, looking thoughtful for a moment.

 “A toast for finally being able to meet again,” Baekhyun began, holding his glass up.

 “That’s a good one,” Chanyeol said, gently clinking their glasses together, wincing a little at the sound. “Did they break?!”

 “No, you’re good to go,” Baekhyun chuckled. “Cheers!”

 Chanyeol echoed the ‘cheers’, and then they both took a sip of the liquid. Silence reigned for about a second and a half, before they both groaned.

 “So good, why is it so good?” Chanyeol sobbed, placing a hand over his heart.

 “Ugh, your mind, how did you even come up with this?” Baekhyun asked, licking his lips.

 The sweet taste of strawberries mingled perfectly with the slight sharpness of the sparkling wine, creating a fresh summer drink, and it was almost dangerously delicious. Good thing they only had one bottle of the sparkling wine!

 “I knew you like strawberries, and I remembered that a friend had something like this at his wedding,” Chanyeol answered, taking another sip. “They were married in a small town like this too, think that's why I thought of it, but I don't remember it tasting this good!”

 Baekhyun gave a small laugh. “Don't they say that things are much better when in good company or something?”

 “Don't know, but if they don't they should start with it,” Chanyeol said, smiling so charmingly that Baekhyun almost found himself blushing. “Oh, I know, let’s go out onto the balcony and drink it in the sun with the amazing view!”

 “Okay,” Baekhyun managed to get out without embarrassing himself, then following the taller. Mongryong barely even cracked one eye open when they went past him, before going back to sleep.

 “Wow, it really is amazing,” Chanyeol sighed, standing with his eyes closed by the railing as Baekhyun sneaked past him to his regular chair. “The sun, the wind, the forest, the almost-sea… From my point of view, this is a pretty amazing place.”

 “At times it is, yes,” Baekhyun agreed, shading his eyes as he looked out over the lake. It was sparkling rather prettily, and it was beautiful, but it also made Baekhyun miss the real deal even more.

 Imagined seas could never beat real seas.

 Chanyeol sat down in the empty chair and placed his glass on the table between them, still being very careful with it. Taking out his phone, he moved around a little as he focused on the screen, and Baekhyun was pretty sure he was taking photos.

 Looking back out at the view, it took Baekhyun a few moments to realize that Chanyeol’s phone was no longer aimed at his drink - but at Baekhyun.

 “Are you taking pictures of me?” Baekhyun asked, a smile growing on his lips even as he held up a hand to shield his face. “Why?”

 “Because you’re looking really beautiful and I want to remember this day perfectly,” Chanyeol said in a soft voice, and Baekhyun was sure that if this continued, he would faint. “Also, I have like three pictures of you, if you don’t count the half-selca with Mongryong.”

 “I don’t like taking selcas,” Baekhyun mumbled, glancing over at Chanyeol to see if it was safe to remove his hand yet. Since Chanyeol seemed focused on something, camera tilted down, he found it safe.

 “I know, your confidence is too low, which is a shame since you look really good,” Chanyeol answered, just like that, and Baekhyun’s heart skipped a beat. “I’m sure you had mad selca skills back in high school.”

 “I did, yeah…,” Baekhyun said, chuckling a little as he remembered his teenage years and his excessive use of bathroom mirrors. And then the chuckling died down a little as he remembered how the selcas started to dwindle, and why, to the point of now when he barely took any.

 Chanyeol having been sent three by Baekhyun, not including the half-selca with Mongryong, was actually rather amazing. That was three more than most people ever got.

 “But, I have to say, if I’m being completely honest with how selfish I am, it feels really nice to know that I’m probably the only person that has that many recent selcas of you,” Chanyeol said, grinning, and Baekhyun just could not help himself.

 “Are you? How do you know that?” Baekhyun said, somehow managing to keep his face neutral, even as Chanyeol’s face fell. But only for a second, before he burst out laughing. “You should’ve seen your face! I’m sorry, that was so funny!”

 Chanyeol grumbled some under his breath, and before Baekhyun had the time to react, Chanyeol had taken a picture of him, mid-laugh.

 Horrified, Baekhyun choked on his laugh, coughing as he tried to snatch away the taller’s phone to delete the picture. It must be looking horrible!

 “Calm down, calm down! It’s not a bad picture!” Chanyeol exclaimed, leaning as far away from Baekhyun as he could and laughing. “I swear, it’s not that bad! Here, see!”

 Baekhyun calmed down a little, enough for him to take a look at the picture, and then he collapsed back into his chair with a sigh.

 “Okay, it wasn’t that bad,” Baekhyun begrudgingly admitted, sulking a little. “Still rude as fuck to suddenly take a picture like that…”

 Putting one arm on the table between them, Chanyeol placed his chin on it, and blinked up at Baekhyun, making his eyes appear larger than normal. There was a small pout on his lips, and he looked about twenty years younger than what he actually was.

 “I’m sorry, Baekhyunnie, you were just looking so cute laughing, and you were teasing me,” Chanyeol said, voice a bit whiny. “I promise it won’t happen again, can you forgive me?”

 “I forgive you,” Baekhyun muttered, flicking Chanyeol’s forehead. “Now stop looking so cute!”

 Chanyeol, who had been rubbing his forehead vigorously to ease the smarting pain, stopped and looked over at Baekhyun with an impish grin.

 “Why?” he asked, and Baekhyun raised his fingers in attack again, Chanyeol rearing back and out of reach. “Okay, okay, stop!”

 “So, I’m feeling like pizza for dinner,” Baekhyun said, changing the subject, as he leaned back and took another sip. More strawberry juice had stained the wine, and Baekhyun could not help but smile a little over the taste.

 “I’m totally up for pizza,” Chanyeol said, tone a bit weird, but he was only smiling softly as Baekhyun looked over at him. “Pizza sounds great.”

 “Great! When do you want to eat?” Baekhyun asked, pulling out his phone as he did. “It’s about half past three now…”

 “How about at around six?” Chanyeol suggested, taking his glass and drinking some. “Not too early and not too late?”

 Baekhyun nodded and put his phone down on the table in between them. “Sounds like a plan!”

 

 They stayed outside on the balcony for about an hour and a half, talking and drinking. A few times, they went inside to fetch some more sparkling wines and strawberries, in the end ending up just bringing the box of strawberries outside with them, and after some time, Mongryong joined them. Baekhyun put his blanket on the floor of the balcony, and Mongryong collapsed down on top of it.

 “He’s still looking really out of it,” Chanyeol worriedly said, watching Mongryong, and Baekhyun gave a sigh.

 Picking up a strawberry, Baekhyun pinched the leaves off, before holding it up.

 “Monggie, you want a strawberry?” Baekhyun asked, and the corgi immediately jumped up, barking and trying to nip at the strawberry that Baekhyun kept pulling out of reach. “Ah, yes, of course you do, here you go!”

 Baekhyun threw the strawberry into the air, and Mongryong jumped and managed to catch it, happily nomming on it with his entire butt waggling. As soon as he was done, he stood up on his hind legs, putting his paws against Baekhyun’s legs to beg for more.

 “You seem pretty energetic, baby,” Baekhyun cooed, smugly glancing over at Chanyeol. “Here, show Chanyeol what a good boy you are, and you’ll get another one!”

 Picking up another strawberry, Baekhyun made Mongryong turn around in a circle, sit down, roll over, and then play dead, Chanyeol clapping his hands excitedly throughout it all.

 “See, you worry too much,” Baekhyun chuckled as he wiped his hands off on his jeans, having finally given Mongryong the strawberry. “He’s just a bit lazy after naps, especially the longer ones.”

 “Dogs can eat strawberries?” Chanyeol asked in disbelief, looking at Mongryong who, after having realized that he would not get any more strawberries for now, had laid down on the blanket again.

 “Oh, yeah, just not too many,” Baekhyun said, picking up a strawberry for himself and leaning back in his chair as he took a bite out of it. “Then his stomach will be horrible, and  _ that’s _ not a fun thing to have to deal with.”

 Chanyeol wrinkled his nose in disgust. “I can imagine… Your lips are red, by the way. From the strawberries.”

 Pulling the sweet berry away from his mouth, Baekhyun licked his lips, trying to ignore the way Chanyeol was looking at him. The light buzz in his veins from the alcohol bubbled up, making him feel slightly light-headed, more intoxicated than he should feel.

 He really was not used to having this kind of attention on him…

 “I’m starting to feel hungry, how about you?” Chanyeol said, eyes glued to Mongryong.

 “Yeah, me too,” Baekhyun said, pursing his lips to hide a smile as he took his phone and pulled up the pizza app.

 Half an hour later, the pizza arrived, breaking the half-silence reigning between the two men. It had almost been a bit awkward, but not completely, a few secretive smiles whilst avoiding eye contact - and a whole lot of tension. Nice tension, but Baekhyun was still thankful for the reprieve the delivery guy brought.

 “The pizza is already paid for, so can you get it while I set up the other stuff?” Baekhyun asked as they headed towards the hallway; Baekhyun turning into the kitchen with a grateful smile when Chanyeol nodded in agreement.

 “Do you often order from that place?” Chanyeol asked a few minutes later as he joined Baekhyun in the kitchen. “The delivery guy seemed pretty confused to see me.”

 Baekhyun chuckled as he accepted the pizza box, opening it and starting to cut the large pizza into slices.

 “Uh, well, not  _ that _ often, but it's a pretty small town and it doesn't take a lot to become a regular,” Baekhyun answered, before nodding towards the plates. “Help yourself.”

 “Don't mind if I do!” Chanyeol sing-sang, clapping his hands softly in excitement as he moved over to the plates, then began to take some pizza.

 Putting the scissors away, Baekhyun then followed Chanyeol’s lead and took some pizza for himself. Arming themselves with a can of beer each, they then headed over into the living room and sat down in the sofa.

 “Hey, do you have Chromecast or something? I remembered a cool thing I want to show you,” Chanyeol said as he pulled out his phone and nodded towards the TV.

 Baekhyun nodded as he finished the bite that he had taken, before he got up from the sofa and half-jogged over to the kitchen to fetch a roll of paper towels.

 “Yeah, just connect to my Wi-fi and you’ll be able to jump on it,” Baekhyun said, sitting down again and placing the roll between them for easy access.

 Chanyeol nodded as he began messing around with his phone, and Baekhyun continued to eat. The pizza was tasting extraordinarily good today, and it had been a while since he had pizza now…

 “Password?” Chanyeol asked, glancing over at Baekhyun, who took a sip of beer before answering.

 “Fearless04, capital letter at the beginning,” Baekhyun said, raising an eyebrow at the quick glance he got. “What?”

 Chanyeol shook his head with a small smile on his lips as he tapped the password into his phone. “Nothing, it’s nothing. It’s a pretty nice password, actually. Is it a reminder to yourself?”

 “Yeah, it’s something someone told me a long time ago, and I’ve been trying to make sure to remember it ever since,” Baekhyun answered as he picked up another pizza slice. “Sometimes I don’t, but I try. So what was it that you were gonna show me?”

 “Oh, boy, you’re gonna fall out of your seat, this is so cool!” Chanyeol cackled as he picked up on Baekhyun’s maybe not-so-subtle hint and easily followed along with the change of subject. “Okay, so there’s this guy who was playing Battlegrounds, and he managed to do this really sick trick, and I don’t know if he was just lucky or not, but yeah, it’s cool!”

 They spent the rest of dinner looking at cool clips from different games, ‘oh’-ing and ‘ah’-ing over them all. At one point, Mongryong trudged inside and tried to beg himself some food, but after a few no’s from Baekhyun, he sulkily walked over to his box of toys and began to pull some of them out. Chanyeol cooed loudly over it, until another video was put on the TV, and they went right back into it.

 In the end, the pizza was demolished, and the plates and the box completely cleared. With a heavy sigh, Baekhyun collapsed back against the backrest, feeling so incredibly stuffed in the sort of bad kind of way, but still so good.

 “You need a cigarette break?” Chanyeol asked, stretching his back.

 “You learn quick,” Baekhyun said with a smile, drinking up the last in his can. “Yeah, after each meal I need one.”

 “You go smoke, and I’ll take care of the dishes,” Chanyeol said, standing up and carrying his plate over to the kitchen.

 “Chanyeol…,” Baekhyun said, feeling a bit bad about letting Chanyeol do the dishes.

 “Baekhyun…,” Chanyeol shot back, using the same tone. “I want to help, let me do it.”

 “Fine,” Baekhyun said with a pout, before he got up and helped Chanyeol carry the last couple of items over to the sink. “Be right back!”

 “Take your time!” Chanyeol called back.

 Even though Baekhyun did hurry up a little, he still came back inside to Chanyeol having finished the dishes and having gotten them more alcohol, sitting in the sofa and playing with his phone. When Baekhyun stepped inside, Chanyeol smiled up at him and put his phone away.

 “So, what are we doing now? Netflix and chill?” Chanyeol asked, obviously flirtatiously joking, but Baekhyun just shrugged as he sat down next to Chanyeol and picked up the remote.

 “I mean, why not?” Baekhyun said, navigating over to the Netflix app. “I don't feel like moving for a while, so… And there's this movie I've wanted to see for a while now anyway.”

 Chanyeol sat up a bit straighter, looking a bit surprised, but he quickly shrugged it off.

 “Which movie? I won’t agree to something bad,” Chanyeol said, eyes darting between the TV and Baekhyun, as Baekhyun went through his list.

 Finally, Baekhyun stopped at the movie he had in mind, and gave a smile.

 “This one!”

 Chanyeol just stared at the TV, before slowly turning to stare at Baekhyun as well.

 “You… You’ve never seen Deadpool? What the hell?” Chanyeol whispered in disbelief, before snatching the remote from Baekhyun and starting the movie. “Oh, we’re going to watch this and we’re going to enjoy this, because this is Deadpool and I can’t believe you haven’t seen this yet! I’m disappointed, Baekhyun-ah!”

 Baekhyun just laughed as he wiggled around to get a bit more comfortable, putting his feet on the edge of the table.

 “I haven’t had anyone to watch it with, and I’ve been busy!” Baekhyun excused himself, getting a huff in response. “But hey, now you have the privilege of watching it with me as I’m watching it for the first time, isn’t that nice?”

 Chanyeol’s eyes narrowed, before he gave a shrug.

 “You are making a point, and it is valid. Now hush, it’s starting! God, this is going to be great, it’s such a good movie!”

 And a good movie it was, Baekhyun had to agree. He rather regretted that he had not watched it before now, but at the same time he was kind of happy he had not. Because he was sure that watching it alone or with someone else would not have been as fun as watching it together with Chanyeol.

 The taller knew most of the jokes and good scenes, hyping them both up before the actual movie got to the place, just for them to end up as laughing messes as soon as the movie caught up. Chanyeol even managed to help the movie drag a tear or two out of Baekhyun, though Baekhyun tried to discreetly wipe it away before Chanyeol caught sight of it.

 “Fine, I see what you mean, I’m a bit disappointed in myself for not watching it sooner…,” Baekhyun said as the movie finished, tilting his head a little to look up at Chanyeol.

 Somewhere during the movie, they had ended up side to side, and Baekhyun had leaned his head on Chanyeol’s shoulder as Chanyeol had leaned his head against Baekhyun’s head. Having pulled his legs up, feet in the sofa, Baekhyun had let his left leg tilt partially into Chanyeol’s lap, as Chanyeol had his own legs stretched out in front of him. So now they were sitting as close as they probably could without Baekhyun actually sitting in Chanyeol’s lap, and Baekhyun more than welcomed the closeness.

 “I told you so!” Chanyeol exclaimed, grinning widely, so close to Baekhyun, acting so proud of himself. “Deadpool is one of the best movies ever made, you should’ve watched it  _ years _ ago!”

 Baekhyun just chuckled as he let Chanyeol go on and on, watching as his lips moved, not really listening to the words they formed. It was rather hypnotizing, and Baekhyun knew that if this continued, he would lean forwards and silence Chanyeol with his own lips.

 Abruptly sitting up straight, Baekhyun put his feet down on the floor, before giving Chanyeol a kind of awkward half-smile.

 “Need a smoke,” Baekhyun said, because it was at least partially true. He needed to busy his hands and mouth with something, and a cigarette was safer than Chanyeol. In one way, at least.

 Chanyeol gave a surprised nod, eyes a bit wide, but getting up and following Baekhyun over to the balcony. So Baekhyun was not going to be able to fully escape Chanyeol, but at least there would be a table between them, something for Baekhyun to keep between them to not tempt himself too much.

 He hoped.

 The silence stretched between them as Baekhyun lit his cigarette, a silence that had Baekhyun a bit on the edge, but not because of feeling awkward or anything. No, it felt like he was waiting for something to happen, but he did not know what. Glancing over at Chanyeol, who glanced right back at him, Baekhyun bit down on his lower lip momentarily, before taking a drag of his cigarette.

 Suddenly, Chanyeol was leaning over the table, one hand grabbing Baekhyun’s wrist, and the other the back of Baekhyun’s neck. Pulling Baekhyun’s hand holding the cigarette away, Chanyeol pressed their lips together, and Baekhyun’s entire world came to a stop.

 He could feel the tendrils of smoke caress his face as they slipped between their moving lips, adding to the softness of Chanyeol’s plump lips against his and the firmness of Chanyeol’s tongue against his. Baekhyun’s world stayed still and silent, but his head was suddenly spinning.

 When they parted, there was no smoke left, and Baekhyun’s cigarette was not even glowing anymore, but Baekhyun was breathing as if he had smoked a whole pack and then run a marathon. All he could see was Chanyeol’s soft, twinkling eyes, mirroring the night sky around them.

 And then the moment was broken as Chanyeol pulled back and began to cough. Startled, Baekhyun dropped his put-out cigarette, quickly fishing it up from the floor to discard before Mongryong could find it.

 “Oh my god, Chanyeol, wait here,” Baekhyun chuckled as he hurried inside and fetched his glass of coke, before rushing outside again and holding it out for Chanyeol to take. “ _ Why _ did you kiss me when I was smoking? You don’t smoke! That must’ve been horrible on your throat!”

 Chanyeol gulped the coke down, gasping a little afterwards and giving one last cough, before he looked up at Baekhyun with tearfilled eyes.

 “You looked so pretty with your starry eyes and soft smile that I just couldn’t help myself,” Chanyeol answered, voice a bit raspy, but that was not so strange. Putting the glass down, he took ahold of one of Baekhyun’s wrists whilst grinning, and tugged him closer. “But it was pretty cool, wasn’t it? With the smoke?”

 “Yeah, it was pretty cool,” Baekhyun admitted with a smile as he brushed his hand through Chanyeol’s messy hair. “But we’ve tried that now, you almost died because of it, let’s maybe not do it again?”

 “Kiss?” Chanyeol asked with a pout, and Baekhyun gently flicked his forehead.

 “Kiss with smoke, stupid,” Baekhyun corrected him. “You can kiss me as much as you want when I’m not smoking.”

 “Then come here,” Chanyeol murmured as he patted his lap, pulling on Baekhyun’s hand.

 Chuckling a little, Baekhyun threw caution to the wind and straddled Chanyeol’s lap, leaning forwards as Chanyeol cupped his face to pull him down, and they got right back to where they left off. And this time, they separated because of lack of air, not because of irritated throats, before quickly surging back towards each other as soon as possible.

 “Okay, we should stop now,” Baekhyun finally declared, in between kisses. “We’re outside, people can see us, and we need to walk-  _ Chanyeol! _ ”

 Chanyeol, seeing as Baekhyun’s mouth was busy with talking, had attached his lips to Baekhyun’s throat instead, and whatever little blood Baekhyun still had in his head quickly drained away, leaving him dizzy and trembling.

 “We need to walk me?” Chanyeol pulled back long enough to chuckle, earning himself another flick to the forehead. “Ow! Meanie!”

 “Chanyeol, we’re outside, in the open, and we need to walk Mongryong,” Baekhyun said, grabbing Chanyeol’s chin both to hold him in place so that Chanyeol could not attack him again, and to make Chanyeol look at him.

 Chanyeol gave a sigh and slumped a little, nodding his head.

 “Fine, okay, but only because of Mongryong,” Chanyeol said, sighing yet again. “I don’t care who sees us out here!”

 “But I do, I live here, stop pouting,” Baekhyun said, giving Chanyeol’s cheek a soft pat.

 Chanyeol gave yet another sigh, before patting Baekhyun’s butt. “Not pouting, just sad… It’s really nice kissing you.”

 Baekhyun smiled as he climbed off of Chanyeol’s lap, grimacing a little over the pain in his legs.

 “I told you, you can kiss me as much as you want when I’m not smoking, but maybe not like that in public?”

 Chanyeol stood up and picked up the glass, heading after Baekhyun inside. “Okay, I’ll keep it in until we get back inside of your apartment. I accept your terms.”

 “Thank you,” Baekhyun said, smiling at Chanyeol, before turning to the sofa where Mongryong was lying. “Come on, Mongryong, evening walk!”

 The dog was a bit more tired this time around, trudging instead of trotting, but he powered on, plopping down on his fluffy bum in the hallway and barking for Baekhyun to hurry up.

 “Let’s go, let’s go!” Chanyeol sing-sang as he herded Baekhyun forwards by gently slapping Baekhyun’s butt, until Baekhyun grabbed his hands and pulled Chanyeol along instead. They ended up doing some weird joint penguin waddle, both laughing by the time they arrived by Mongryong.

 Through teamwork, they made quick work of putting the harness on Mongryong and finding Baekhyun’s stuff, before heading outside. It was much cooler by now, to the point where Baekhyun almost wished he had put on a hoodie, but it was also really nice to feel almost a bit cold after having felt so warm the entire day.

 “Another really nice thing is that the light pollution is so much less here, so it’s easier to see the stars,” Chanyeol said, taking hold of Baekhyun’s hand and lightly swinging it back and forth. “But that’s okay, if I can only see your eyes I don’t need the night sky anymore.”

 Baekhyun choked on his breath, spluttering and blushing hard.

 “You can’t just say such things out of the blue!” Baekhyun protested, feeling very much like hiding. “Stop being surprise cheesy!”

 “I’ll stop being surprise cheesy when you stop reacting so adorably to it!” Chanyeol shot back, quickly leaning down to place a brief peck on Baekhyun’s lips, pulling back with a snicker. “I can see your blush even in the darkness, it’s really cute.”

 “We just walked beneath a streetlamp, it wasn’t that dark,” Baekhyun deadpanned, making Chanyeol burst out laughing for real. “You’re really just fishing for whatever you can find, which is  _ not _ cute, Chanyeol-ah.”

 “It’s a good thing Mongryong is here to help make up for all the cuteness I remove in this couple,” Chanyeol chuckled, and Baekhyun just hoped Chanyeol did not notice how his heart skipped a beat.

 Instead, Baekhyun looked forwards, giving a small smile at Mongryong, who was marching ahead, corgi butt adorable wiggling from side to side.

 “Yeah, you’re right, without Mongryong here, we’d be doomed,” Baekhyun said, laughing as Chanyeol offendedly gasped.

 

 The short evening stroll was the best one they had been on so far, Baekhyun had to say. He found it really amusing how Chanyeol would take advantage of the darkness and lack of people around to give Baekhyun quick kisses - just lips against lips for barely a second, to make sure Baekhyun would not scold him. And really, Baekhyun would probably have allowed more, he was feeling rather weak for the taller and the taller’s lips. Thankfully, Chanyeol never pushed it.

 And in the end, they unfortunately had to go back inside, putting a stop to their midnight rendezvous - that was neither at midnight nor really a rendezvous, but the feeling it gave Baekhyun made it feel like ‘midnight rendezvous’ was the appropriate label.

 As soon as Baekhyun stood up straight after having removed Mongryong’s harness, he was pressed against the wall, having no time to do more than inhale before Chanyeol was kissing him so deeply Baekhyun could feel it down into his toes. Looping his arms around Chanyeol’s shoulders, Baekhyun held on for dear life as he returned the kiss with just as much fervour.

 “What was that for?” Baekhyun panted out when Chanyeol pulled back and leaned his head against Baekhyun’s shoulder.

 “All the pent-up frustration from not being able to kiss you when we were outside,” Chanyeol answered, sounding about as wrecked as Baekhyun was feeling.

 Baekhyun gave a surprised laugh. “You were sneaking little pecks from me at every chance you got!”

 “And that just frustrated me more!” Chanyeol complained. “I just really wanted to kiss you properly every time I gave you a peck, and since there were so many, there were  _ a lot _ of times when I felt like really kissing you properly, and, well… Here we are. Why are you complaining?”

 “I’m not complaining,” Baekhyun said with a chuckle, gently tilting Chanyeol’s head back up again. “I’m doing the  _ opposite _ of complaining, I promise.”

 And then Baekhyun kissed away the smile that appeared on Chanyeol’s lips, kissed him deeply until his head was spinning from lack of air.

 “Really not complaining,” Baekhyun gasped out as he pulled back, feeling Chanyeol’s breath as puffs against his lips.

 “Good to know,” Chanyeol panted, nodding his head, their faces so close that Baekhyun could feel the tip of Chanyeol’s nose drag against his cheek, and it was a bit maddening to be honest. “I need to stop kissing you now.”

 “Okay,” Baekhyun almost squeaked, his stomach squeezing near painfully. Yeah, it was probably good if they stopped kissing now…

 Taking a deep breath, Chanyeol then pushed himself off of Baekhyun, allowing the shorter to stand up from having been leaned against the wall.

 “So, uhm, what are we doing now?” Chanyeol asked, rubbing the back of his head a bit awkwardly, and Baekhyun gave a snorting chuckle as he took hold of Chanyeol’s hand and pulled him into the living room.

 “How about some more Netflix and chill?” Baekhyun suggested. “I’m not really tired yet?”

 “Me neither,” Chanyeol said, giving a smile, “so it sounds like a pretty good plan.”

 They ended up in the sofa again, Chanyeol sitting by one of the armrests and Baekhyun leaning on him. After some time, Mongryong joined them as well, claiming his spot in Baekhyun’s lap but with his back paws on Chanyeol’s thigh. Chuckling over how the corgi spread himself over them both, Baekhyun snuggled a bit closer to Chanyeol, who tightened his arm around him.

 What a lovely way to end the evening, Baekhyun could not help but think, smiling to himself as he felt that amazing softness once more spread throughout his body.

 

 Some time later, Baekhyun started to feel Chanyeol relax against him, breathing turning slower. Moving the sleeping dog out of his lap, Baekhyun paused the TV, turning to Chanyeol who was blinking at him, squinting a little.

 “What?” Chanyeol said, voice darker with sleep, but seeming like he did not want Baekhyun to know that he had more or less fallen asleep.

 “You must be tired after today,” Baekhyun chuckled, dragging a hand through Chanyeol’s hair, and instead of protesting, Chanyeol just closed his eyes and leaned forwards a little more into Baekhyun’s touch. “I think it’s time to go to bed.”

 Chanyeol opened his eyes, looking a bit like he was about to protest, before he sighed softly and started to stretch a little.

 “Yeah, I guess so,” Chanyeol quietly agreed, hiding a yawn behind a hand. “Maybe that’s a good idea…”

 “Of course it is, it’s mine,” Baekhyun cheekily said, before getting out of the sofa.

 A certain thought was starting to pick up speed inside of his head, spinning around faster and faster, as Baekhyun walked over to his bedroom with Chanyeol in tow, the taller picking up his bag on the way as well.

 “You can either sleep in my bed, or I have a daybed you can sleep on as well,” Baekhyun said, trying to sound casual about it.

 But he was not feeling casual about it, at all. His heart was beating a little unevenly at the thought of Chanyeol sleeping in his bed with him, both because of nerves and because of how much he wanted it - as well as because of a tiny bit of fear that Chanyeol would chose the daybed.

 Baekhyun really felt like getting cuddles, and it appeared that Chanyeol was thinking the same.

 “I don’t mind sleeping in your bed, I bet it’s at least ten times better than your daybed,” Chanyeol said, dropping his bag next to Baekhyun’s bed. “Your bed looks like it can actually fit my tall frame as well, which I’m doubtful that your daybed can.”

 Baekhyun chuckled. “This might be true… You are quite tall. I have to warn you, though, Mongryong is a cuddler, so don’t be surprised if you wake up to him trying to sneak beneath your cover, or plopping down across your face or something. He’s been known to do a lot of weird shit in his sleep.”

 “As I recall from when we were all sleeping across the mattresses on Jongdae’s floor,  _ you _ are also known for doing weird shit in your sleep,” Chanyeol pointed out as he pulled out a pillow from his bag. “I heard that that time wasn’t even that bad from how you usually are, so I’m looking forwards yet not to see how bad it can get.”

 “Uh, well… Like dog, like owner?” Baekhyun slowly said, rubbing the back of his neck a bit awkwardly. Even if he never remembered any of the things he did in his sleep, he had heard enough from others to know that it could get very bad.

 He just hoped he wouldn’t hurt Chanyeol  _ too _ bad. That would be pretty sad.

 “True,” Chanyeol chuckled, pulling out a few other things, before standing up straight and connecting his thumbs and middle fingers around Baekhyun’s wrists. “If it gets too much, I guess I’ll just have to restrain you…”

 Baekhyun felt something deep in his stomach that had him almost blush, but he tried to push it down and ignore it - at least for now.

 “Whoa, down boy,” Baekhyun sternly said. “No humping on the first day.”

 Chanyeol gave a pout, before releasing Baekhyun’s hands in favor of wrapping his arms around Baekhyun instead, and tipping them down onto the bed. Baekhyun gave a screeching laugh as Chanyeol began to wiggle them around, until they were laying a bit more comfortably.

 “I’m very okay with just cuddling,” Chanyeol sighed, burying his face against Baekhyun’s neck, making Baekhyun giggle as it tickled him. “Then I get an excuse to grope and fondle you, and you really have a great body, don’t you?”

 “I told you, you just have to start believing what I tell you!” Baekhyun exclaimed, smacking Chanyeol’s arm as a hand suddenly placed itself on his behind. “Hey!”

 “Just checking, are you doing squats?” Chanyeol asked as he squeezed Baekhyun’s butt a few times. “Because nothing I do help with mine.”

 Deciding on revenge, Baekhyun placed his hand on Chanyeol’s butt and gave it a few pats.

 “True, there’s not much here,” Baekhyun jokingly lamented, earning himself a gasp that had him laughing. “Don’t worry, I’ll show you some of my exercises, then maybe you’ll get an ass half as good as mine!”

 Chanyeol gave one last sigh as he squeezed Baekhyun’s butt one last time, before moving his hand.

 “Half as good as that magnificent ass, I’ll take that any day! But enough of playtime, I’m about to crash, so I think I’m going to get ready for bed…”

 Baekhyun sighed a little as Chanyeol pulled back and sat up, but did the same and got onto his feet. Worrying his lower lip, he looked over at Chanyeol, then glanced over towards his wardrobe.

 “What’s wrong?” Chanyeol asked, obviously having picked up on something.

 “It’s just… It’s really warm,” Baekhyun answered, wondering a little how he should phrase his minor worries.

 Chanyeol frowned, before his eyes widened, lips then giving an easy smile.

 “I don’t mind if you sleep in your underwear, I’ll probably do the same,” Chanyeol reassured Baekhyun, waving his concerns away with one hand. “You’re right, it is really warm, and I’d rather not die. And I mean, we’re both guys, so there’s no worries, right?”

 Baekhyun just raised an eyebrow, not missing Chanyeol’s obnoxious wink.

 “Yeah, we’re both guys… Who made out on the balcony for like five full minutes… No worries at all…,” Baekhyun muttered, rolling his eyes as Chanyeol grinned up at him. “I’m going to brush my teeth.”

 “I think it was longer than five minutes!” Chanyeol called out as Baekhyun turned and headed towards the bathroom, laughing as Baekhyun gave a loud sigh.

 Not long after Baekhyun had entered the bathroom, Chanyeol joined him, and they spent a few minutes playfully fighting over the sink. Until Baekhyun almost choked on his toothpaste foam, at which Chanyeol conceded and let him finish first. Then Baekhyun hung around the extra half a minute or so it took for Chanyeol to finish, and they headed back to the bedroom together, turning lights off and checking the stove and things on the way.

 Once back in the bedroom, Chanyeol sat down on the edge of the bed, leaning back against his hands as he nodded towards Baekhyun’s shirt.

 “Come on, then, let me see what you got,” Chanyeol said, wiggling his eyebrows. “I’m very curious now, you know…”

 “I’m not going to strip for you!” Baekhyun exclaimed, trying to give an easy smile even as his cheeks started to heat up a little.

 “Nah, you don’t have to do that, but you have to undress,” Chanyeol said, sitting up a bit straighter. “We’ve already decided that it’s too warm to sleep in more than boxers, so off the clothes go!”

 Giving an exasperated sigh as his heart crept up towards his throat, Baekhyun yet again threw caution to the wind as he gripped the hem of his shirt and pulled it off in one go. Throwing it towards his laundry hamper, he did not dare to even glance over at Chanyeol as he undid the button and pulled down the zipper of his jeans, before quickly sliding them off.

 Throwing the jeans towards the hamper as well, Baekhyun quickly glanced up at Chanyeol, feeling slightly amused as he caught Chanyeol staring at his body.

 “Hm,” Chanyeol finally began, after a few silent moments. “Maybe I should sleep on the daybed after all…”

 Bursting out laughing, Baekhyun shoved Chanyeol out of the way so that he could crawl beneath his cover and hide, pulling it up to his nose to hide his cheeks flaming red with embarrassment.

 He knew his body was looking pretty great, and was rather proud of it, but to have someone - no,  _ Chanyeol _ \- staring at it like that… It did funny things to Baekhyun’s insides, and it had Baekhyun hiding. Even though he felt very happy that he had gotten such a nice reaction…

 “I can’t compete with that, holy shit,” Chanyeol said as he turned to look at Baekhyun, pressing a hand against his chest and grimacing. “Wow, too good, amazing, I was not prepared!”

 Snorting, Baekhyun wiggled his leg free so that he could kick at Chanyeol, but Chanyeol took advantage of the moment to instead take ahold of Baekhyun’s ankle, his free hand sliding up Baekhyun’s calve.

 “Do you get these muscles just from walking with Mongryong? Because in that case I need to get myself a dog. Or you and Mongryong, because these feels awesome as fuck,” Chanyeol continued, awe in his voice and in his expression, which had Baekhyun feeling shy again. “Damn, your thighs…”

 Almost shouting, Baekhyun threw his cover away to be able to smack Chanyeol’s creeping hand off of his inner thigh, because those territories were yet not allowed. Trying to pull himself together into a ball, Baekhyun tugged at his cover to get it on top of himself again, but Chanyeol was faster, catching Baekhyun and collapsing down onto him, amidst giggles and shrieks.

 “Don’t be shy with me, you’re not naturally this shy,” Chanyeol whispered into Baekhyun’s ear, surprisingly serious, and it had Baekhyun still against the taller. “I know you’re normally more assertive and less shy, but I also know what happened kinda fucked you up a little. But please, try to trust me, and be yourself with me. I swear I’ll do everything I can to help you, and make it as easy as possible for you to get back to the person you used to be, the non-broken version of you. Just trust me, and don’t hold yourself back.”

 Baekhyun had heard variations of those words a few times now, ever since the breakup. Even since before it, to be honest, having had worried friends that had tried to help him. But it felt a bit different now, when Chanyeol was saying it to him. Like Baekhyun was in a better place, having started on his journey back to himself, and being ready to open his heart and trust someone like Chanyeol asked him to trust him again.

 So Baekhyun took a deep breath, and then nodded.

 “Okay,” he whispered back, wrapping his arms around Chanyeol’s neck. “I’ll try.”

 “Thank you,” Chanyeol murmured against Baekhyun’s skin as he nuzzled into the crook of Baekhyun’s neck. “I swear I won’t let you down, and make it worth it.”

 Baekhyun gave a small chuckle at that, tiny pricks of fear invading his heart, but also a sense of calm.

 “Don’t make promises you don’t know if you’ll be able to keep,” he began, feeling Chanyeol being about to protest and tightening his arms around the taller as he continued, “but I really hope you’ll be able to keep them.”

 Chanyeol stilled, before he pressed a kiss against Baekhyun’s pulse point and pulled back. Baekhyun moved back beneath his cover as Chanyeol stood up and undressed, but this time it was not to hide. This time it was simply to go to bed, and it felt oddly liberating.

 It is exhausting to doubt yourself and push yourself down, and Baekhyun was more than ready to let go of that. He had managed to get parts of himself back, and now it was time for another part, a bigger and more scarier part.

 “Separate covers?” Chanyeol asked as he also laid down on the bed, lifting his own cover to slip beneath as Baekhyun nodded.

 “Still no humping on the first day, as well as the first night,” Baekhyun said, smiling. “Plus, I have a tendency to steal covers, apparently, so if you want to stay warm during the night, this is actually safer for you too.”

 “Okay, fine, I’ll take that,” Chanyeol chuckled, thankfully not questioning any more. Because even though Baekhyun felt ready to let go of some stuff and embrace other, he was still not quite ready for  _ that _ .

 No matter how incredibly good Chanyeol looked in just his boxers, and Baekhyun could without a doubt say that he looked  _ marvelous _ . Like hot damn.

 After Baekhyun had reached up to turn off the last light, silence reigned for a moment, before Chanyeol turned around to face Baekhyun, face barely more than an outline in the recent darkness.

 “Does this mean no cuddles?” Chanyeol carefully asked, voice hushed as if deeming it appropriate for the darkness, and it had Baekhyun snickering.

 “We have protection, so I don’t mind some cuddles at all,” Baekhyun answered as he scooted closer, quickly accepted into Chanyeol’s arms.

 And even though Baekhyun knew that it would soon get too warm to lie like that, he could not help but relax against Chanyeol, inhaling the scent of sandalwood, sunlight, a tinge of cinnamon, and Chanyeol’s natural musk, and that combination coupled with all of the excitement of the day quickly pulled Baekhyun down into dreamland.


End file.
